DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0285757 issued to Atarashi et al. (Citation B in the IDS filed on 1/17/2024)
Regarding Claim 1, Atarashi et al. teach in Figures 1-6 and respective portions of the specification of an electric excavator (1) comprising:
an exterior cover including a first side panel (shown in Figure 2a) and a second side panel (shown in Figure 2a) opposite to each other in a left/right direction, a first vent (21) provided in the first side panel (see Figure 2a), and a second vent (24) provided in the second side panel (see Figure 2b);
a battery (27) arranged between (see Figure 1) the first side panel and the second side panel and supplying power to a power source (8);
a hydraulic equipment (7) arranged forward of the battery (27); and
a cooling device including a cooling fan (12) and arranged facing an area (a portion of the fan faces between the battery and hydraulic equipment) located between the battery (27) and the hydraulic equipment (7) in plan view (see Figure 1) in the left/right direction.
Regarding Claim 2, Atarashi et al. teach the cooling device is configured such that air (22) taken in from the first vent (21) by driving of the cooling fan (12) passes between (see Figure 1 where at least a portion of the airstream is between the battery and hydraulic equipment) the battery (27) and the hydraulic equipment (7) and is discharged (25) from the second vent (24).
Regarding Claim 3, Atarashi et al. teach a partitioning member (see the structural wall located just below element 14 in Figure 1) arranged between the battery (27) and the hydraulic equipment (7).
Regarding Claim 5, Atarashi et al. teach at least part of the cooling device (12) faces (see Figure 1) the hydraulic equipment (7) in a direction in which a rotation axis of the cooling fan (12) extends.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4, 6 and 7 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the primary reason for the indication of allowable subject matter is the inclusion of in re claim 4 where the cooling device is sends air to each of the area on the battery side relative to the partitioning member and the area on the hydraulic equipment side relative to the partitioning member; in re claim 6 where the cooling device faces the battery in a direction in which a rotation axis of the cooling fan extends; in re claim 7 where an oil cooler faces the hydraulic equipment in a direction in which a rotation axis of the cooling fan extends and a radiator facing the battery in the direction in which the rotation axis of the cooling fan extends, in combination with the other elements recited, not found in the prior art of record.
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BRIAN SWENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3618
/BRIAN L SWENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613